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Stonetalon Mountains
The Stonetalon Mountains are a range of peaks that lie west of the Northern Barrens, south of Ashenvale, and north of Desolace. The mountains are traditionally the ancestral home of the harpies, but their numbers have dwindled with the turmoil in the region. Stonetalon Peak, the largest mountain in the range, has long been a sacred place for both the night elves and tauren. The night elves once maintained a barrow and a glade at the top, but the area has since come under attack by a sinister force. The mountains further south are less forested, although some sparse evergreens grow in certain spots, particularly the Greatwood Vale. Windshear Crag has been decimated by years of logging by various factions, leaving the air is filled with soot and spoiling the area's water with oil and waste. The night elves have several holds, while the tauren have a settlement in the centrally located Sun Rock Retreat and the Darkspear trolls have a village further south at Malaka'jin. The Horde and Alliance also have posts at various battlefronts throughout the mountains. The mountains are home to creatures such as kobolds, spiders, and eagles, while Charred Vale stretches out to the sea and holds several especially dangerous black dragons and elementals. =History= ---- In ancient times Elune blessed Fountain of Health in Stonetalon Mountains. The Stonetalon Mountains were once a low set of hills giving a gentle view to the ocean waves in the west. The Sundering that tore apart the world drove great sandstone cliffs and mountain peaks high in the air. Water from the eastern coast poured into the newly created chasms and gorges. With the aid of erosion from the Blackwolf River, the Stonetalon Mountains have expanded into a vast network of canyons and cliff openings that invites adventurers and beasts alike to explore the virgin lands. The Stonetalons rise in central Kalimdor, south of Ashenvale Forest and north of Desolace. The mountain range feeds into the bleak expanse of the Barrens to the east. The atmosphere of the Stonetalon Mountains can best be described as extreme. At the lower elevations it is windy, hot, and dry. It is a harsh place where food cannot grow and flash floods are commonplace in the early summer months. Moisture from the ocean builds up into huge rain clouds, but the towering peaks are too high for the clouds to pass inland. They crash against the mountains’ western side and pour massive sheets of water upon the slopes to run through narrow canyons and back into the ocean or into a valley to dry up in a marshy sink. When the weather turns to rain, the ground grows slick and gray. Walking on a slope or a cliff in the rain is treacherous — water seeps through the sandstone and threatens to send even careful travelers plummeting to their deaths. Oftentimes, when the clouds expel all their moisture, hot winds push them farther up the slope, surrounding the Stonetalon Peak in a shroud of thundering mist. An immediate feature any visitor notices — aside from the sheer cliffs and deep crevasses - is the constantly blowing wind. Sometimes a gentle breeze carries fresh air in from the ocean and other times a violent gale stirs up vicious dust devils or brings a storm in from the western mountains. The rugged mountains are home to many wild beasts and only a few civilized habitations. Hippogryphs roost near Mirkfallon Lake in cave complexes high on the slopes. Their nests are defended by large bramble hedgerows, making access nearly impossible without flying. Other creatures found throughout the mountains are striders, hyenas, kobolds, swoops, crag panthers, and even rock elementals and the rare sabertooth cat. Further up the Stonetalon Peak, on its eastern side, are the chaotic lands of the wyverns and drakes. These ancient “flying lizards” have long been rivals for supremacy of the skies. Every once in a while, when other races threaten to interfere, the two will set aside their differences long enough to deal with the interlopers. Agents of the goblin-run Venture Company have also been sighted in the area, searching for potential tracts to deforest and streams of precious ore to plunder with their mining machines. The mountains are known for their Ill Winds. The winds whip through the Stonetalon Mountains with great force, slowing travelers' progress and throwing up clouds of grit and dust that can confuse the best sense of direction. Small and lightly built individuals have even been flung off a mountainside by a particularly forceful gust. The wind in Stonetalons seldom drops below moderate even on a calm day and can change from a steady breeze to a brutal windstorm without warning. The Third War Stonetalon Mountains have traditionally been the area of Kalimdor where Night Elves and Tauren coexist and forms a border between the two peoples. Stonetalon Peak has long been a sacred place for the two races, and was historically the home of the immortal Oracle, the being who saw the strands of fate as they were woven by the Earth Mother. During the Third War, the mountains hosted human and orcish camps, and it was at Stonetalon Peak that the Alliance and the Horde temporarily united in order to fight the Burning Legion. World of Warcraft According to Mor'rogal there is something evil under the mountains. The trolls of Malaka'jin sent Horde adventurers to strike at the keepers and dryads within the at the Stonetalon Peaks, the tauren of Sun Rock Retreat and the night elves of Stonetalon Peak sent adventurers to deal with the various threats within the region. Meanwhile Ziz Fizziks at Windshear Crag, aims to strike directly at the heart of Venture Company's local team — the leprous gnome Gerenzo Wrenchwhistle. And in a small camp nearby, Kaela Shadowspear and Gaxim Rustfizzle organize the Alliance's opposition in the rugged crags, with particular aims at the nearby goblin invaders and the monsters of the Charred Vale. Cataclysm After the coming of Deathwing wracked the whole of Azeroth, the Stonetalon Mountains were altered in several locations. The Charred Vale, while mostly restored by druidic efforts, received a large spire of lava jutting out its southern end. Stonetalon Peak came under attack by the Old Gods' forces, destroying the land, killing the wildlife and corrupting the Sons and Daughters of Cenarius. Meanwhile, Stonetalon also became a major theater of war in the Alliance-Horde war. Overlord Krom'gar showed the sheer brutality of Garrosh Hellscream's Horde, destroying a glade of innocent druids and students unaffiliated with the Alliance for suspicion of being allied with the Alliance. These events would foreshadow Garrosh's barbarous attack on Theramore Isle. According to Elder Sareth'na there is an ancient evil in Stonetalon. Adapted from Wowpedia Classic and Wowpedia Category:Kalimdor Locations Category:Places Category:Geography Category:Mountains Category:Stonetalon Mountains Locations